It’s freak me when Internet dosen’t work, rtl8723be not showing any wifi connection? or low range and you have recently installed Debian or Ubuntu Distro?

I purchased one of the HP laptops in mid-2018, and I received a computer with MS-DOS installed. Of course, who will just use MS-DOS in 2018? I immediately installed Ubuntu 16.04 for daily use.

After Installation, I found WiFi is not working at all.

I tried a couple of commands and found that the WiFi network interface state is DOWN and has no success in changing the current state. After a few hours of hustle restored the connection.

A similar problem today I faced in my Debian Buster, and it took me a while to fix it. I can say problems persist even after many years might because of proprietary issues, linux kernel or anything else.

I don’t want my fellow readers should face any difficulty to restored network Adapter. To resolve this issue, you have to follow each step without skipping any part.

Prerequisite

You are probably facing this issue in a fresh installed Debian or Ubuntu-based system.
There is a high possibility you will miss some of the Utilities like Git, gcc, and Development tools to compile packages.

No Doubt you need a sudo privilege account to perform all the actions.

One important note, This guide is primarily for Realtek Network card models like rtl8188ee rtl8192cu rtl8192se rtl8723com rtl8822be rtl8192c rtl8192de rtl8723ae rtl8723de rtl8192ce rtl8192ee rtl8723be rtl8821ae.

If you are not sure which network adapter is available, type the below command to check:

$ lspci | grep Wireless

02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter

Download Basic Utilities including git, gcc and development tools

Do not attempt to move ahead without Installing these packages. Otherwise, you may face difficulty compiling modules from scratch.

This is mandatory If you have installed Linux from a minimal version.

$ sudo apt install linux-headers-generic build-essential git

The above command includes packages like:

• linux-headers-generic:- It is used to make modifications to the linux kernel
• build-essential:- Include development utilities like gnu compiler collection, debugger, and many other libraries
• git:- To clone a file from the GitHub repository

Once you complete the above step, Install the latest firmware-realtek packages:

$  sudo apt install firmware-realtek

The basic step is over here.

In the next part of the section, you will see How to clone the rtl8723be driver from GitHub and compile it from scratch.

Download Realtek Firmware Package

In 2021, I have faced a problem getting the driver package, Anyhow able to find and clone it. After that, I have copied this link to my Github repository.

Other users can rely on me to get packages, To clone open a terminal and pass the below command:

$  git clone https://github.com/gdkali/rtlwifi_driver.git

In the latest Ubuntu version (20.04), you do not need to download driver files. It’s already available to the kernel. Just follow the Remove and Add Network Interface.

Now we left with a series of commands to execute, and after that WiFi, network interface will start fetching network devices.

Compile Network Driver

Once you clone a file, move to the “rtlwifi_driver” directory and pass the subsequent command to install drivers. 

$ cd rtlwifi_driver/
$ sudo make
$ sudo make install

Restart your system.

If you follow the above step diligently, there is less possibility to encounter any error, and once the above process is complete, pass the below command.

Remove & Add Network Adapter

In my system, I have a rtl8723be network adapter. If it is different in your case, make sure to replace it with a correct network adapter and pass the following command:

$ sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
$ sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2

I thought you should know what command we are throwing to the terminal.

• modprobe:- It is used to add or remove modules from the Linux kernel
• r:- Stand for removing
• v:- To print what are changes happening behind the scene.
• rtl8723be:- Network adapter
• ant_sel=2:- Set network antenna 2 for better range.

Wait for a minute to show the network device, and It would be better if you turn on Mobile Hotspot; consequently, it will help you to test the network range.

Once you satisfy with a range, pass the below command to save configuration permanently:

echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=2" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf

Low range rtl8723be

Still getting low-range? Try to replace ant_sel with 1. To make changes open a terminal and pass the below command and modify rtl8723be.conf with the latest value:

$ sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=1
$ echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf

After that, restart your system to reflect changes.

Wrapping-up

That’s all to fix rtl8723be no Wifi Network connection on your Debian or Ubuntu-based Machine, and I hope it works well for you.

Read this:- What is apt Command in Linux?

After every Linux kernel update, you need to rebuild the module, and I’m sure you will do pretty well. If you find some better way to resolve this issue, please let us know in a comment section.

If you want to say Hi to me or want to suggest something feel free to contact me.